COLUMN: Health funding should be top of the Xmas list
“The best Christmas present that the Welsh Government can provide to Powys, is to give part of an additional £180m health uplift to Powys Health Board so we can end the two-tier system for Powys patients who are wating for treatment in English Hospitals.
From July 1, some Powys patients will wait longer than English patients, when being treated in hospitals in England. The plans proposed by Powys Teaching Health Board were agreed in March. This has lead to Powys patients facing slower access to treatment in English hospitals despite available capacity. The Board said it needed to live within-their-means and to respond to the financial expectations set out by the Welsh Government.
Earlier this month, The Welsh Government announced an additional £180 million would be allocated to the Health and Social Care budget, as part of a budget deal negotiation with Plaid Cymru.
Last week, I urged the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Mark Drakeford MS, to direct a portion of the Welsh Government’s £180 million health and social care spending increase to Powys Teaching Health Board, to end this completely unacceptable two-tier situation where Powys patients are treated more slowly than English patients, when waiting for treatment in English hospitals.
The fact is that Powys patients are being asked to wait longer than English patients is indefensible, but it can be fixed quickly with a targeted allocation to Powys to purchase treatment in England, so Welsh patients can be seen based on the English waiting-time targets.
I have also written to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care seeking confirmation of a ring-fenced allocation will be provided to Powys.
I wanted my last column of 2025 to focus on this issue, as I believe it is one of the most pressing issues currently facing us in mid Wales.
I want to wish all MyWelshpool and MyNewtown readers a happy Christmas and a prosperous 2026.”
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